MILAN: Facebook Inc. has suspended its location-sharing feature in Italy after a Milan court ruled last year that the social networking giant had violated competition and copyright laws by effectively copying a similar app from a local start-up.
Italian software developer Business Competence filed a lawsuit in 2013, accusing Facebook’s Nearby feature of having copied its Faround application, which helps users locate Facebook friends in the vicinity.
A copy of the court’s ruling, issued on Aug. 1 last year but only made public by Business Competence on Monday, said that Facebook launched its Nearby feature only months after Faround was included in the social network’s app store in 2012.
The complaint alleged that the two applications were “extremely similar” in their functions and general set-up.
Facebook said it has discontinued offering what it now calls Nearby Places in Italy while it appeals against the court’s ruling. Facebook dropped what it called Places in 2011 but later revived similar features in Nearby, which also competes with products offered by Silicon Valley rivals Foursquare and Yelp.
The court ordered Facebook to suspend Nearby Places in Italy or pay fines of 5,000 euros per day for copyright infringement and unfair competition. It said that Facebook may have to pay further damages to be determined at a later stage.
The ruling is preliminary and a further hearing is scheduled for April 4.
Facebook sought to have the order put on hold while it awaited a ruling on the merits of the case, but its request was rejected by the court in December. It said on Monday that it is complying with the decision pending its appeal.
“We respectfully disagree with the decision. The claims were without merit,” a Facebook spokeswoman told Reuters in an e-mailed statement.
“We believe the order was wrongly decided, but we have respectfully complied with the order in the interim.”
Business Competence’s Faround app was launched in September 2012 and quickly gained popularity among Italian users.
Faround was the most downloaded new social networking app in the country during the week of Nov. 22, 2012, according to data from App Annie, a business that measures online traffic.
Downloads plunged the month after Facebook launched its own Nearby feature on Dec. 17 of that year.
“It was a big blow to us to see that we were losing everything we had invested (into Faround),” Business Competence Chief Executive Sara Colnago told Reuters, adding that it had cost the company 500,000 euros ($530,050) to develop the app.
Facebook suspends location-sharing feature after Italian copyright suit
Facebook suspends location-sharing feature after Italian copyright suit
Apple to update EU browser options, make more apps deletable
- iPhone maker came under pressure from regulators to make changes after the EU’s sweeping Digital Markets Act took effect on March 7
- Apple users will be able to select a default browser directly from the choice screen after going through a mandatory list of options
STOCKHOLM: Apple will change how users choose browser options in the European Union, add a dedicated section for changing default apps, and make more apps deletable, the company said on Thursday.
The iPhone maker came under pressure from regulators to make changes after the EU’s sweeping Digital Markets Act took effect on March 7, forcing big tech companies to offer mobile users the ability to select from a list of available web browsers on a “choice screen.”
The new rules require mobile software makers to show the choice screen where users can select a browser, search engine and virtual assistant as they set up their phones, which earlier came with preferred options from Apple and Google.
In an update later this year, Apple users will be able to select a default browser directly from the choice screen after going through a mandatory list of options.
A randomly ordered list of 12 browsers per EU country will be shown to the user with short descriptions, and the chosen one will be automatically downloaded, Apple said. The choice screen will also be available on iPads through an update later this year.
Apple released a previous update in response to the new rules in March, but browser companies criticized the design of its choice screen, and the Commission opened an investigation on March 25 saying it suspected that the measures fell short of effective compliance.
The company said it has been in dialogue with the European Commission and believes the new changes will address regulators’ concerns.
It also plans to introduce a dedicated area for default apps where a user will be able to set defaults for messaging, phone calls, spam filters, password managers and keyboards.
Users will also be able to delete certain Apple-made apps such as App Store, Messages, Camera, Photos and Safari. Only Settings and Phone apps would not be deletable.
